DOVER — The trial for a Middleton town employee on the charge of aggravated felonious sexual assault began Tuesday morning at Stafford County Superior Court. The jury trial had been rescheduled from earlier this month after some last minute changes in the witness list.

Judge John Lewis and 13 jurors sat before Dale Glidden, 49, and his attorney, Howard Gross. Prosecutor Amy Feliciano opened the trial on behalf of the state by telling the jurors about the young victim, who is now 11 but was 8 or 9 years old at the time of the alleged incident.

Feliciano told the jurors that after the child reported the incident to school officials, an investigation was launched that revealed the incident is alleged to have occurred in Middleton.

According to Feliciano, the victim was “rubbed” from outside the clothing. She alleges Glidden touched the victim with his hand, not stopping when the child asked him to do so, but only when she began to cry.

Day one of the anticipated three-day trial saw five witnesses testify including the young girl. She testified first, answering to both the prosecution and defense.

She identified Glidden and explained that he had touched her genitals with his hand, through the outside of her clothes. The victim was limited in her discussion of the incident, stating she didn’t want to talk about it “because he’s here.”

She explained that the incident occurred following a Fourth of July party. After Glidden touched her, she testified, he had told her not to tell anyone.

When she was asked how she felt when he touched her, she responded, “I didn’t like it.”

Attorney Gross then questioned the young girl. He asked her if she thought it was important to tell the truth, to which she replied, “Yes.”

Gross brought up inconsistencies in her testimonies over the past two years, from allegedly telling her court appointed special advocate (CASA) that she was wearing a bathing suit at the time of the incident, to saying the touching occurred under her clothes. The victim denied these reports.

The remaining four witnesses included the child’s school guidance counselor, her mother, and two officers.

Lisa Chapman, a guidance counselor at the Dondero School in Portsmouth, was the first person the victim went to with the incident. The young girl discussed the issue with her, which Chapman was then obligated to report to her mother as well as to the Division of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF).

She said that when people in her position “suspect neglect or abuse, you must report it.”

The next witness was Officer Christian Johnson of Alton. On the day of the alleged incident, he had picked up Glidden’s girlfriend who had been found wandering the area near the town’s Dunkin’ Donuts. He described the woman as highly intoxicated.

He testified she had been taken into protective custody at which point they attempted to reach Glidden to pick her up. He refused. It is alleged that was the night the incident occurred.

The fourth witness for the state was Sgt. Jason Lamontagne of the Middleton Police Department. He became involved in the case after the alleged incident, which was reported in Portsmouth, was found to have occurred in Middleton.

He said that after the child had been interviewed at a child advocacy center, he had served a search warrant on Glidden’s home. He took pictures that corroborated the child’s description of the home.

He also served Glidden his ex parte order, which Lamontagne described as “an emergency order by the court used to stop injury or harm, or potential injury or harm.”

Lamontagne testified that Glidden had two responses. He first cried then stated, “I can’t believe all this over one time.”

The final witness was the child’s mother, who will remain unnamed to protect the identity of the victim. She testified that the child had described the incident to her by pointing at the area where she had been touched because she did not know the word for it. She described the child’s emotional state as “upset, hesitant, and crying.”

Following the mother’s testimony, the state rested its case. After the jury was dismissed, Gross motioned to have the case dismissed. He said the state did not makes its case to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the victim was under the age of 13 at the time of the event and that the incident occurred with the intention of sexual gratification on the part of the defendant.

Judge Lewis denied the motion. The case is expected to continue for two more days.